The Outcast Dead (31 page)

The kettle has done its stuff and Cathbad carefully pours the water into the cups. He’s always very careful with his choices. The best mug, bone china with hollyhocks, for Judy, a suitably macho choice for Darren (Norwich City or Union Jacks) and the worst cup for himself, as a sort of penance. Sometimes he torments himself further by looking at the other items in the cupboard: the Thomas the Tank Engine bowl, the yellow beaker with two handles, the sterilised milk bottles. He doesn’t do this now, he knows that he wouldn’t be able to bear it. This is the third night and even his faith is starting to wane. Stay strong, he tells himself, stay strong for Judy. The spirits are protecting Michael. But, tonight, his trust in the spirits is beginning to fail. From the sitting room comes the sound of laughter from the
Friends
studio audience. Lucky them. Cathbad doesn’t think that he’ll ever laugh again.

A knock at the door. Cathbad drops a mug (Darren’s) and darts forward. He collides with Judy and Darren in the hall. Cathbad wins the race for the door. Outside is a strange woman in jeans and a dark jacket. She has a lean, sporty look, like a greyhound. Judy seems to recognise her.

‘Tanya,’ she says without enthusiasm.

‘Can I come in?’ says the woman called Tanya. ‘We think there’s been a development.’

*

‘She’s not going to Judy’s,’ says Ruth. It seems like the first time that anyone has spoken for a long time. For the last hour they have all been leaning forward, eyes fixed on the white car in front. Clough is careful to keep as far back as he dares. He doesn’t want to alert Dani to the possibility of being followed. At one point it seemed that they had lost her altogether but then Ruth spotted a white shape moving between overhanging trees. ‘She’s taken a side road.’ Clough swerved to follow. ‘Thank God it’s a white car,’ he said.

There are no other vehicles on the Castle Rising road but it’s dark and Clough doesn’t put on his beam. Dani is driving fast but not too fast. Ruth wonders if this too is part of her mad logic, wanting to care responsibly for the child whom she has snatched from his mother. The castle looms above them behind its high earth wall, square and forbidding. Ruth seems to remember that, like most castles, it has a rather nasty history. Wasn’t a queen locked up there once? She’ll have to ask Frank. But not now. Now only Michael matters.

Dani drives past the turning to Judy’s house, following the castle walls.

‘Where is she going?’ mutters Clough. Dani has slowed down though and he too kills his speed. What was that thing you learnt in your driving test, thinks Ruth. Only a fool breaks the two second rule. She finds herself saying it under her breath. Only a fool breaks the two second rule. Only a …

‘She’s stopping,’ says Frank.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre. Dani parks carefully by the side of the road. It’s dark, open country all around. Clough stops in the shade of an overhanging tree.

‘Wait,’ he tells the others. ‘Don’t move.’ Ruth hears him radioing in to Nelson. ‘She’s stopped. Castle Rising, just beyond the village. Yeah. I will. Yeah. OK Boss.’

Ruth watches as Dani gets a pushchair from the boot of the car. She must have bought it specially, she thinks. She lifts Michael out of the car and straps him into the chair. He’s not moving but maybe he’s asleep. Ruth’s heart is pounding. She wants to jump out and snatch Judy’s child back. He’s so close. She can see his dark hair and the white blur of his face. But Clough’s voice holds her back. ‘Wait. Don’t move.’

Dani sets off at a brisk pace over the field. Clough swears. ‘I’m going to follow,’ he says. ‘You wait here. The boss is on his way.’

Clough gets out of the car and sprints over the grass after Dani, surprisingly light-footed for such a big man.
Ruth watches his white shirt disappearing into the trees. She gets out of the car.

‘He said to wait,’ says Frank uncertainly.

‘You wait,’ says Ruth.

She hasn’t gone a few hundred yards when she realises Dani’s destination. There’s a children’s play area in the shadow of the castle mound, swings, slides, a roundabout turning slowly in the slight breeze. Calmly Dani lifts Michael from the pushchair and puts him in one of the baby swings. Ruth can hear her singing as she pushes him to and fro. Perfectly normal behaviour, mother and child playing on the swings. Except that it’s nearly midnight. And Michael is someone else’s child.

Ruth catches up with Clough, who is concealed behind a tree.

‘Clough.’

‘What are you doing here?’ he hisses. ‘I told you to wait.’

‘I know. Clough, let me talk to her. I know her. You don’t. I can persuade her to give Michael back.’

Clough looks at her doubtfully. He’s obviously weighing things up. Maybe Ruth would be better, she’s a woman after all. And a mother. But what would the boss say? While he’s still thinking, Ruth steps forward into the playground.

Dani doesn’t even notice at first, she’s so intent on Michael. ‘Swing low sweet chariot,’ she’s singing. A very scary song, Ruth has always thought, isn’t it all about dying?

‘
Swing low sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home
.’

‘Dani!’

Dani glances up. She looks the same. A wiry, no-nonsense professional who can also look disconcertingly like a little girl. Ruth finds it almost impossible to equate TV Dani with the woman who could do something like this. The Childminder.

‘Hi Ruth,’ says Dani. ‘Has the filming finished?’

This simple query takes Ruth completely by surprise.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘No. I don’t know.’ She is aware that, to the listening Clough, she is hardly coming across as a silver-tongued orator.

‘Is that Michael?’ she says. She is relieved to see that Michael seems alert and quite happy. He is looking up at the dark trees, a strange little smile on his face.

‘Yes. This is my Michael.’

My Michael. This throws Ruth for a moment and it’s Michael himself who saves her. ‘Kate,’ he says loudly and clearly. He waves at her, beaming.

‘Who’s Kate?’ asks Dani sharply.

‘My daughter.’

‘Do you know Michael then?’ She looks down at the little figure on the swing as if surprised that he can have a life that doesn’t involve her.

‘His mum’s a friend of mine,’ says Ruth.

Dani makes a sound that is almost a hiss. ‘His mother. She doesn’t love him. She doesn’t care for him. She just leaves him with a childminder.’

Ruth tries to keep her voice calm. ‘She does care. She loves him very much.’

‘I heard her that night in the restaurant,’ says Dani. ‘“It’s good experience in socialising.”’ She puts on a mocking, high-pitched voice. ‘Socialising! Children don’t need to socialise. They need
looking after
.’

‘You’ve certainly looked after Michael well,’ says Ruth.

‘Yes,’ says Dani. ‘I looked after the other one too, the little girl. Poppy. It was Judy who told me about her too. The family that never saw their children. So I decided to take Poppy for myself, to look after. It was so easy, I just walked into the house. The door was unlocked. The parents were downstairs, completely ignoring their babies. I just went upstairs, and took Poppy out of her cot. I’d bought a buggy and we walked to my hotel. I was staying at a different place then. They didn’t ask questions because I’m so good with children. No-one ever asks questions. Michael’s childminder just handed him over to me. I had the letter, you see. The letter on police paper. Remember the letter I had giving authorisation for the filming? I used the letterhead.’

‘Very clever,’ says Ruth, edging forward.

‘Poppy loved being with me,’ says Dani and her voice is soft with reminiscence. ‘But then I saw the mother on television and she did look sad. So I gave her another chance. I gave Poppy back to her.’

‘Are you going to give Judy another chance?’ asks Ruth. She is near enough now to touch the tip of Michael’s foot as he swings towards her. ‘She’s completely devastated.’

‘No,’ says Dani. ‘I saw her on TV and she didn’t look upset at all. I’m going to keep Michael with me forever.’

*

Nelson sees Clough’s car parked by the trees. A tall grey-haired man is standing beside it. He recognises the man as the TV guy – Frank – but now he looks different. All his self-assurance (cockiness, Nelson calls it) has vanished. He looks worried and rather scared. As Nelson approaches, Frank says, ‘Are you the boss? They’re over there.’ He points towards the open ground. Nelson can hear voices and what sounds like the creak of a swing.

‘They?’

‘Ruth and Clough.’

‘What’s Ruth doing getting involved in this?’

The man shrugs as if implying that he has no control over Ruth. Nelson knows the feeling. He stomps away angrily. After a few metres he finds Clough hiding behind some trees.

‘She’s over there. Child looks in good health. Ruth’s talking to the woman.’

‘Why?’

Clough doesn’t answer. Nelson imagines that Ruth didn’t wait for his permission. Even so he feels angry. Ruth could be putting herself in all sorts of danger. Still, the voices don’t sound angry exactly.

‘Come on,’ he starts to edge nearer.

*

Tanya puts her phone away. Three people are staring at her intently but she addresses herself to Judy.

‘He’s here. In Castle Rising. At the park. He’s fine. It’s all under control. But Nelson says to stay in the house. He doesn’t want a lot of people there. It’s a delicate situation, he says.’

In answer, Judy pushes past Tanya and out of the door. Darren, Cathbad and Thing follow.

‘Come back!’ Tanya yells. ‘You could jeopardise the whole operation.’

But Judy is far away, running as if her life depended on it.

*

Ruth is near enough to catch Michael as he swings towards her. Should she grab him? Clough is nearby, she could call for his help. But then Dani might get away. And what if she’s armed or something awful? Instinct tells her to keep playing the game. She propels Michael back towards his abductor. For a few minutes they swing him to and fro in a ghastly parody of a happy family. Ruth can hear rustling in the bushes. The police must be getting closer.

‘I’d better take him home soon,’ says Dani. ‘It’s getting late.’ She says this as if it’s nearly teatime, not one a.m.

‘I could take him home,’ says Ruth. ‘It’s just round the corner. Honestly, it’s no trouble.’

Dani’s face darkens. ‘I know she lives round here. That’s why I brought him to this park, I thought it would be familiar. He used to come here with his childminder. I watched them. Nice girl. She cared for him, I know.’

‘She’s very upset,’ says Ruth. ‘She blames herself.’

For the first time, Dani seems to falter. ‘Does she? She
mustn’t do that. I blamed myself for Jackson. But it wasn’t my fault. Everyone said it wasn’t.’

‘Of course it wasn’t,’ says Ruth. She stops the swing, holding on to both sides. ‘it must have been awful for you.’

‘Everyone always blames the childminder,’ says Dani. ‘Just like everyone blamed Jemima Green. That’s why I wanted to make this film. To set the record straight.’

Ruth lifts Michael out of the swing, holding him close. ‘Poor Jemima,’ she says, backing away. ‘Frank says he can prove she was innocent.’

‘Good old Frank.’ Suddenly Dani seems to realise what Ruth is doing. ‘Hey!’

Then several things happen at the same moment. A white dog comes bursting through the undergrowth and hurls itself on Dani. Two large men appear from behind the trees. A female whirlwind comes blazing over the grass and snatches Michael from Ruth’s arms. And Michael looks up and says ‘Daddy’ as Cathbad and Darren come panting around the corner.

‘My baby. My baby.’ Judy and Michael lie on the grass, inextricably entangled. Clough has tackled Dani and they, too, are on the ground. Nelson is restraining Thing, who seems intent on licking him to death. Other police officers emerge from the shadows and take charge of Dani. Ruth sees her being led away. Darren and Cathbad kneel either side of Judy, both weeping. It’s an oddly religious image, the kneeling men, the mother and child. Ruth finds that she, too, is crying.

‘How the hell did you get involved?’ This, of course, is Nelson, still holding Thing by the collar.

‘Don’t you mean “thank you”?’ says Ruth, wiping her eyes.

‘Thank you. How the hell did you get involved?’

‘I suddenly realised about Dani. It was a case I’d read on line, about a childminder in Boston. So I went to her hotel and Clough was already there.’

‘I read about that case.’ Tanya has joined them, out of breath and rather disgruntled.

‘But you didn’t make the link, did you?’ says Nelson.

‘It was in America!’

‘Dani’s American,’ says Ruth. ‘That’s what made me think. She was a childminder for a baby that died. The parents were found guilty of murder. It made Dani resent all working parents.’

‘So, years later, she started snatching babies,’ says Nelson. ‘Why now? It doesn’t make sense.’

‘I don’t know,’ says Ruth. Suddenly she feels very tired. ‘I think it may have had to do with Jemima Green. Mother Hook, you know. Dani really wanted to make this film about her, to prove she was innocent. It must have brought it all back.’

Thing barks ecstatically. Judy is on her feet, walking towards them, holding Michael so tightly that he seems almost part of her body. Ruth goes over and hugs them both.

‘I’m so glad he’s OK,’ she says.

‘Thank you,’ says Judy. ‘Thank you, Ruth.’

‘I didn’t do anything really.’

‘You found him!’

‘Clough found him too.’

Hearing his name, Clough ambles over. He is covered in bits of grass and grinning broadly.

‘How is the little fella?’He ruffles Michael’s hair.

‘He’s fine,’ says Judy. She reaches up to give her colleague a kiss. ‘Thank you, Dave.’

Even in the dark, Ruth can tell that Clough is blushing. ‘Just glad it worked out,’ he says gruffly.

‘One thing I don’t understand, Cloughie,’ says Nelson. ‘What made you go to that woman’s hotel in the first place?’

‘You’ll never believe me even if I do tell you,’ says Clough.

Cathbad, who has been enfolding Ruth in a fierce hug, suddenly gives a shout of laughter. ‘I know. It was the psychic wasn’t it? It was Madame Rita. She gave you the clue.’